Services

Paying 4G prices for a 3G service in Worcestershire

CUSTOMERS paying for super-fast mobile services in Worcester say they cannot get connected - and have no idea when they will be able to.

The 4G broadband service was rolled out in major cities by mobile provider EE, the company that owns T-Mobile and Orange, in August 2012.

But it has yet to reach Worcester on EE or any other network provider, and no one can say when it will, despite many people having signed up for contracts including the service.

Chris Clayton, of Warndon Villages, Worcester, said when he took his 4G contract out in August last year, he thought he would be getting the services in a matter of weeks.

He said: "It was all over the TV last year when it was the new thing and now we are paying for all these services, because they said they were rolling it out across the country, and as far as I'm concerned, they've not rolled it out any more than when I took out the contract."

Mr Clayton pays £41 a month and is committed for 24-months but has to go to Birmingham to have the coverage he pays an extra £11 a month for compared to his previous 3G contract amount.

Hazel Davis, from Worcester, said she was recently upgraded to a 4G contract and now pays £39.99 a month for a service she does not receive.

And it is not just Worcester suffering from the lack of network, as James Dodd, from Upton upon Severn, who is on the same plan as Mr Clayton, has not yet been able to connect near his home.

"I took out a contract with EE with a 4G service as it was part of an early upgrade offer," he said.

"The closest locations I've managed to use 4G is Cheltenham and Birmingham."

When contacted regarding coverage in Worcestershire, an EE spokesman said: "If any of our customers have enquiries about their accounts, they can contact our customer services teams in store, over the phone or online.”

Lee Freeman, a Vodafone customer in Worcester, upgraded his contract eight months ago but has yet to get connected outside of the capital city.

He said: "I had text come through saying, '4G is now in your area! Reply yes and receive Spotify or Sky Sports free for 6 months.'

"It then automatically upgraded adding an extra £5 a month to my bill, I waited a couple of months and still wasn't getting 4G and if anything my 3G had got slower.

"I spoke to someone in store and they said, 'yeah, we haven't got 4G, the only place that has is London at the moment'.

"I said then why did they text me saying it is. His reply was, 'I don't know'."

The network said even though the city did not yet have coverage, people with 4G contracts would become automatically connected when it arrived.

A spokesman for Vodafone said: "While we are bringing 4G services across the country, we started with the major conurbations like London and Manchester. 4G is now available in 208 cities and towns.

"Our 4G handsets work on the existing network and will automatically use 4G when it becomes available."

But bucking the trend of expensive tariff upgrades, O2 have made the prices of 3G and 4G the same and have been upgrading people for free so they can use it when they are in a covered area.

An O2 spokesman said: "Last December we launched some new pay monthly 4G tariffs, making it easy for customers to experience O2 4G.

"As part of this we’re also helping existing customers who have purchased a 4G-Ready handsets from us by adding our 4G service onto their 3G tariff at no extra cost, so they can experience some of the great benefits of O2 4G.

"We’re contacting those customers now and over the coming weeks to let them know about getting 4G."

O2 customers can also register for updates on timescales on when 4G services will launch in specific areas by visiting o2.co.uk/4g/coverage-and-cities.

Mobile customers with other networks should visit their provider's websites to see a map of 2G, 3G and 4G networks that are available across the country.

[quote][p][bold]Dagnasty[/bold] wrote:
Gullible consumers.[/p][/quote]Agreed.
Do your homework before you part with your hard-earned.thesquirrel

Dagnasty wrote…

Gullible consumers.

Agreed.

Do your homework before you part with your hard-earned.

Score: 10

truth must out
9:18am Mon 24 Feb 14

thesquirrel wrote…

Dagnasty wrote…

Gullible consumers.

Agreed.

Do your homework before you part with your hard-earned.

Too right....it was offered to me so I spent 10 minutes on the pc and realised it wasn't in this area!!!

[quote][p][bold]thesquirrel[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Dagnasty[/bold] wrote:
Gullible consumers.[/p][/quote]Agreed.
Do your homework before you part with your hard-earned.[/p][/quote]Too right....it was offered to me so I spent 10 minutes on the pc and realised it wasn't in this area!!!truth must out

thesquirrel wrote…

Dagnasty wrote…

Gullible consumers.

Agreed.

Do your homework before you part with your hard-earned.

Too right....it was offered to me so I spent 10 minutes on the pc and realised it wasn't in this area!!!

Score: 9

MJI
11:35am Mon 24 Feb 14

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.
If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!MJI

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

Score: -5

Raniator
11:59am Mon 24 Feb 14

Like someone else said, it doesn't take much time to research where it's available. I signed 4G contract with 02 knowing full well it's not available in Worcester - yet. I'm happy to wait and it's a nice treat when it kicks in when I'm in Birmingham or London (amongst others).

The extra £5 a month isn't exactly a lot, and at least when it does reach Worcester I'll be ready to get the benefits straight away.

Like someone else said, it doesn't take much time to research where it's available. I signed 4G contract with 02 knowing full well it's not available in Worcester - yet. I'm happy to wait and it's a nice treat when it kicks in when I'm in Birmingham or London (amongst others).
The extra £5 a month isn't exactly a lot, and at least when it does reach Worcester I'll be ready to get the benefits straight away.Raniator

Like someone else said, it doesn't take much time to research where it's available. I signed 4G contract with 02 knowing full well it's not available in Worcester - yet. I'm happy to wait and it's a nice treat when it kicks in when I'm in Birmingham or London (amongst others).

The extra £5 a month isn't exactly a lot, and at least when it does reach Worcester I'll be ready to get the benefits straight away.

Score: -2

London Rd
12:31pm Mon 24 Feb 14

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

[quote][p][bold]MJI[/bold] wrote:
4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.
If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone![/p][/quote]4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.London Rd

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

Score: 8

countryman69
12:38pm Mon 24 Feb 14

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.

[quote][p][bold]London Rd[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]MJI[/bold] wrote:
4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.
If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone![/p][/quote]4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.[/p][/quote]You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.countryman69

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.

Score: -5

MJI
5:52pm Mon 24 Feb 14

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

They use the same frequencies the BBC multiplex is on the same channel as the old BBC1 analogue

[quote][p][bold]London Rd[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]MJI[/bold] wrote:
4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.
If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone![/p][/quote]4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.[/p][/quote]They use the same frequencies the BBC multiplex is on the same channel as the old BBC1 analogueMJI

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

They use the same frequencies the BBC multiplex is on the same channel as the old BBC1 analogue

Score: 4

psychoflump
6:20pm Mon 24 Feb 14

Frankly, I'd settle for decent 3G coverage. The telcos can't even get that sorted.

Frankly, I'd settle for decent 3G coverage. The telcos can't even get that sorted.psychoflump

Frankly, I'd settle for decent 3G coverage. The telcos can't even get that sorted.

Score: 6

SgtAl
8:44pm Mon 24 Feb 14

Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.

If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.

You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.

You're welcome.

Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.
If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.
You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.
You're welcome.SgtAl

Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.

If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.

You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.

You're welcome.

Score: 2

MJI
11:37pm Mon 24 Feb 14

SgtAl wrote…

Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.

If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.

You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.

You're welcome.

Stuff Kyle, more concerned about Clarkson

[quote][p][bold]SgtAl[/bold] wrote:
Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.
If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.
You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.
You're welcome.[/p][/quote]Stuff Kyle, more concerned about ClarksonMJI

SgtAl wrote…

Calm down, only those who live in/near Dudley or Birmingham (other areas also but nowhere near Worcs) MAY receive interference from 4G signals on the 800MHz band, but only on Freeview. Satellite TV services, including Freesat, will be unaffected.

If you are affected by this, a filter will resolve the majority of problems; blame Vodafone, EE or 3 if you need to buy and install one.

You can now sleep easy in the knowledge Jeremy Kyle will still be there for you.

You're welcome.

Stuff Kyle, more concerned about Clarkson

Score: -2

worcestersfinest
6:38am Tue 25 Feb 14

When I looked on the internet it wasn't available in Worcester, all you lot paying extra are mugs, do your research first!!

When I looked on the internet it wasn't available in Worcester, all you lot paying extra are mugs, do your research first!!worcestersfinest

When I looked on the internet it wasn't available in Worcester, all you lot paying extra are mugs, do your research first!!

Score: 3

Ted Elgar
12:33pm Tue 25 Feb 14

I have a HSPA+ phone and the speeds I get on 3G are better than my home broadband.. (around 800/1000KiBs) I pay £20 a month with unlimited data.

Some of the 4G services only give you 500gb.. That would be a rip off if you were actually getting 4G.. That would mean you could stream the first 20 minutes of a high def film.. or download 2 albums of FLAC format music.

The truth is - 1. You should buy your phone. It's cheaper. 2. You should always get unliimited data, or else what's the point? 3. You should never accept less than 300 minutes. Go for a sim only deal with the phone you bought at point 1.

I have a HSPA+ phone and the speeds I get on 3G are better than my home broadband.. (around 800/1000KiBs) I pay £20 a month with unlimited data.
Some of the 4G services only give you 500gb.. That would be a rip off if you were actually getting 4G.. That would mean you could stream the first 20 minutes of a high def film.. or download 2 albums of FLAC format music.
The truth is - 1. You should buy your phone. It's cheaper. 2. You should always get unliimited data, or else what's the point? 3. You should never accept less than 300 minutes. Go for a sim only deal with the phone you bought at point 1.Ted Elgar

I have a HSPA+ phone and the speeds I get on 3G are better than my home broadband.. (around 800/1000KiBs) I pay £20 a month with unlimited data.

Some of the 4G services only give you 500gb.. That would be a rip off if you were actually getting 4G.. That would mean you could stream the first 20 minutes of a high def film.. or download 2 albums of FLAC format music.

The truth is - 1. You should buy your phone. It's cheaper. 2. You should always get unliimited data, or else what's the point? 3. You should never accept less than 300 minutes. Go for a sim only deal with the phone you bought at point 1.

Score: 2

Ted Elgar
2:16pm Tue 25 Feb 14

PS. Been thinking about this and Three staff were telling me in May of last year that 4G would soon be available and that I would be able to transfer with their "free upgrade". As most of these contracts are around the 30-35 mark, that cost would seem to be well factored-in to me.

(Compare the in store promises to this article from September
http://www.4g.co.uk/
operators/three-4g-w
ont-be-available-in-
16-cities-till-2015_
30014059

Worcester will be waiting until 2015 for Three 4G.. which is when my current contract runs out. Good job I didnt trust the instore blarney.
Wonder how many other people were fooled into signing up for expensive phones by sales people with unrealistic promises for roll out?

Anyone else have recollections of what the various shops in Worcester were telling local customers last summer?

PS. Been thinking about this and Three staff were telling me in May of last year that 4G would soon be available and that I would be able to transfer with their "free upgrade". As most of these contracts are around the 30-35 mark, that cost would seem to be well factored-in to me.
(Compare the in store promises to this article from September
http://www.4g.co.uk/
operators/three-4g-w
ont-be-available-in-
16-cities-till-2015_
30014059
Worcester will be waiting until 2015 for Three 4G.. which is when my current contract runs out. Good job I didnt trust the instore blarney.
Wonder how many other people were fooled into signing up for expensive phones by sales people with unrealistic promises for roll out?
Anyone else have recollections of what the various shops in Worcester were telling local customers last summer?Ted Elgar

PS. Been thinking about this and Three staff were telling me in May of last year that 4G would soon be available and that I would be able to transfer with their "free upgrade". As most of these contracts are around the 30-35 mark, that cost would seem to be well factored-in to me.

(Compare the in store promises to this article from September
http://www.4g.co.uk/
operators/three-4g-w
ont-be-available-in-
16-cities-till-2015_
30014059

Worcester will be waiting until 2015 for Three 4G.. which is when my current contract runs out. Good job I didnt trust the instore blarney.
Wonder how many other people were fooled into signing up for expensive phones by sales people with unrealistic promises for roll out?

Anyone else have recollections of what the various shops in Worcester were telling local customers last summer?

Score: 2

DarrenM
6:30pm Tue 25 Feb 14

Worcester is not a Freeview/4G affected area - the affected areas can be seen on at800.tv who coincidently leaflet drop affected households prior to mast activation. Even then its only 800mhz 4G, and the in the listed areas most people won't have a problem. If you did have a problem they send a free filter ,so TV interference really is a non-issue.

Worcester is not a Freeview/4G affected area - the affected areas can be seen on at800.tv who coincidently leaflet drop affected households prior to mast activation. Even then its only 800mhz 4G, and the in the listed areas most people won't have a problem. If you did have a problem they send a free filter ,so TV interference really is a non-issue.DarrenM

Worcester is not a Freeview/4G affected area - the affected areas can be seen on at800.tv who coincidently leaflet drop affected households prior to mast activation. Even then its only 800mhz 4G, and the in the listed areas most people won't have a problem. If you did have a problem they send a free filter ,so TV interference really is a non-issue.

Score: 1

mrwrighty
10:05pm Tue 25 Feb 14

countryman69 wrote…

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.

I'm not sure why your comment has been disliked, you are absolutely right. The old analog signals from TV can interfere with Freeview signals at 800MHZ. Checkout the at800.tv website to see how it can affect you and how to minimise the disruption to your Freeview service.

[quote][p][bold]countryman69[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]London Rd[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]MJI[/bold] wrote:
4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.
If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone![/p][/quote]4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.[/p][/quote]You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.[/p][/quote]I'm not sure why your comment has been disliked, you are absolutely right. The old analog signals from TV can interfere with Freeview signals at 800MHZ. Checkout the at800.tv website to see how it can affect you and how to minimise the disruption to your Freeview service.mrwrighty

countryman69 wrote…

London Rd wrote…

MJI wrote…

4G is a pain, I hope we don't get it, as it uses the TV spectrum and has a high possibility of ruining TV reception.

If you want fast broadband get fibre, leave the TV spectrum alone!

4G uses the old analogue TV spectrum. As we're no longer on analogue signals, this won't be an issue.....hence why the spectrum has been sold off.

You are wrong. There are well documented cases where digital signals are affected and TVs need to be retuned or new aerials and even in some cases requiring a satellite dish.

I'm not sure why your comment has been disliked, you are absolutely right. The old analog signals from TV can interfere with Freeview signals at 800MHZ. Checkout the at800.tv website to see how it can affect you and how to minimise the disruption to your Freeview service.

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